From the Ashes
by foolwithdreams
Summary: For Harry and Cedric everything was perfect until the fateful night of the Triwizard Tournament. Now two years later, can love sprout from the ashes and save two bitter rivals? HP/DM
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything belongs to J.K. Rowling along with any and all involved entities. I am simply borrowing her world to play around with, absolutely no Copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: Please read and review! This is a short chapter, but I promise, this will be a long story and the chapters will get better, this is my very first FanFic so please, bear with me.**

He didn't know how, didn't know why, and decided he didn't really want to question it at the moment. For right now, he, Harry James Potter, was being led down the corridors of Hogwarts. He was sneaking about, not knowing for sure where the fuck he was going or what was going to happen when he got there, but at the moment he didn't really care. On this dark May night, he put these decisions in the hands of the older boy who was leading him, hand in hand, through the corridors- Cedric Diggory.

The two finally reached a door which Harry immediately recognized as the Prefects bathroom, where not long before he had entered on Cedric's insistence so that he could understand the 2nd trial of the Triwizard Tournament. However, Harry was not naïve enough to believe it would be an innocent dip in the bath.

He and Cedric had been together for over a month and there wasn't an inch of skin between them that hadn't been explored on late night excursions just like this one. In fact, dear Ronald Weasley was getting quite suspicious of where Harry was disappearing nearly every night around 12 o'clock. Harry wasn't about to explain his sexuality to his friend, let alone his late night trysts and the many things that occurred. The two boys generally stayed out well past 3, and as the old saying goes, nothing good can happen after 1 in the morning….

"Ced…. Wait. I hear someone coming round the corner." Harry whispered, hand reaching to tap Cedric on the shoulder to get his attention.

Sure enough, as the two paused to listen, Draco Malfoy walked around the corner. He clearly wasn't paying much attention to what was in front of him and seemed utterly lost in thought. It took him several moments to realize that the seemingly deserted corridor was in fact occupied by two boys, holding hands just outside of the bathroom he was about to enter for his nightly soak.

"Well, well, well… If it isn't Potter and Diggory. Tsk, tsk, tsk, Cedric you're a decent looking bloke, you could do quite a bit better than scarhead over here." Malfoy drawled. Despite the fact that his words were all for Cedric, it was clear that his roaming eyes were all for Harry, who didn't notice anything. Well, aside from the fact that both he and his boyfriend were being insulted by his enemy of 4 years.

"Shut it, Malfoy, you haven't exactly got the best taste in blokes yourself. I mean Nott? Really? Even YOU should be able to fuck someone better than a garden rat." Harry retorted, waking the nearby portraits. "IOh waitI, that's right, ferrets and rats are both rodents, I suppose its alright then. Sorry about the mix up there."

"You fucking prick… I'd call you a motherfucker, but, that's right, you have no mother to fuck!" Shouted Draco, waking the rest of the portraits that had been sleeping through the ruckus.

At that point, Harry saw red, lunged at Draco, ready to go in for the kill. But no sooner had he made a move, fists clenched at his side, than he found his way barred by Cedric. Eyes flashing, anger seething out of every pore, Harry allowed Cedric to pull him back. He had been silent through the whole exchange up until now, and Harry was nervous about what would happen next.

"Leave it Harry, he's not worth it. Come on, let's just go…please?" Cedric's stony glare that he had been directing at Malfoy melted into something that Harry couldn't quite define, but knew it was worth leaving Malfoy in one piece over.

"Fine, let's get out of here before I do something I definitely would _not _regret in the morning…" Harry managed to say through gritted teeth.

"So that's it then, Potter? Have it your way then." Malfoy tossed casually over his shoulder as he walked into the Prefect's bathroom. This time Harry didn't miss the look that he got from Malfoy. There was the usual: malice, anger, hate. But he saw something else there, something new that he hadn't noticed before: hurt, longing, and something else he couldn't quite place.

Shaking it off he turned back to Cedric, just leaning into him, breathing in his scent and calming himself after the heated argument. For some reason Malfoy just got to him more than anyone else he knew, and not for the first time he wondered if he managed to do the same to Draco.

"Come on Harry," Cedric said, "We can always find somewhere else."

"I know just where we can go," Harry said, the mischievous glint back in his eyes. "Come on, no one will find us there." As he spoke, he took his turn leading Cedric through the corridors, crossing the moving staircases and up to the seventh floor. He paced three times in front of a blank wall across from a ghastly tapestry thinking to himself, _I need a private, romantic room for Ced and I_, and an ornate door appeared on the wall.

The two boys entered the lavishly decorated Room of Requirement and knew at once, that no one would find them there, and even if someone did, they would be far too busy loving each other to care.

**A/N: Yes, Harry isn't supposed to find the Room of Requirement until 5****th**** year, but trust me, I needed to take this liberty. You'll thank me for it later. (:**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I have up through chapter 7 written and beta'd so far, and I guarantee the chapters get longer and better as I write, this was my first ever Fic so thank you all who are reading and giving me a chance! Without further ado…**

Harry woke up the next morning, still in the Room of Requirement, Cedric's arm draped across him. The other boy was still snoring lightly, and Harry took a moment to study his sleeping face.

The worry lines that usually marred Cedric's forehead were smoothed for once. At least until he gave a slight snort, furrowed his brow deeply, shifted a little, then smoothed over once more. Harry couldn't help but give a light chuckle at how even while dreaming, his boyfriend could still be the most serious person he knew.

He went back to staring at Cedric, whose red lips were slightly parted, ghosts of air slipping in and out and he slept. His eyes moved beneath their lids, and he was clearly still dreaming. Harry knew that once those eyes opened, he would be lost in the sea of blue-grey, much like the ocean just before a storm. Harry knew he would gladly sit and drown in that ocean for hours if he had his way. Those times where he was able to just sit and well just…be, was a time Harry cherished more than anything.

Having sat in silence for a good ten minutes, just looking at his lover, Harry got up and made his way to the loo that the Room so graciously provided. This morning, he didn't experience the usual soreness in his bum that would follow a night away from the dormitories with Cedric, mainly because they had reversed their roles for the first time. Allowing his mind to wander over memories of the night before, he finished up his business and tiptoed back into the other room, determined not to wake up the boy now sleeping spread-eagled on the sheets.

He began getting dressed, cast a tempus charm to see how late he was to breakfast, and realized that it was 11:30. If he woke Cedric, they would be just on time for lunch in the Great Hall, and they would have to explain their disappearances to their respective group of friends. No, thought Harry, that won't work at all… I'll call for Dobby, maybe he can manage to scrounge up some lunch for us.

"Dobby?" He half-whispered. With an abrupt crack that quite shattered the silence and caused Cedric to stir a bit, Dobby appeared in the room.

"Harry Potter, sir! Dobby is here to help, what can Dobby get for you sir?" The elf swept into a deep bow, nearly crushing his nose on the floor.

"Oh, er, I was just wondering if you could sneak some lunch up from the kitchens, Dobby? I mean, Cedric and I don't really want to explain everything today so if you could…" Harry recognized he was getting off track from his request and trailed off, content to just wait for Dobby's answer.

"OF COURSE! Dobby lives to serve Harry Potter, and if the Diggory boy is a friend of Harry Potter's, I would be proud to serve him too!" the house elf exclaimed, tears forming in his large, bulging eyes. With that, disapparated and Harry turned away from the spot, shaking his head. He already had a Dobby sized headache coming on and just wanted his food.

"Bloody elf doesn't know how to be quiet early in the morning, does he?" Harry turned and saw Cedric sitting up on the bed, rubbing his eyes.

"I reckon he should, working for the Malfoys for as long as he has, I suppose its just me he's so… Dobby-like around." Harry said, hearing a deep chuckle from the other side of the room.

Harry crawled up onto the bed and gave Cedric a quick kiss on the cheek, their usual good morning routine.

"How did you sleep, Harry?" Cedric asked, a note of concern in his voice, his brows furrowing once again.

"Alright, I guess. If I wasn't constantly dreaming about Voldemort, Wormtail and that godforsaken house I would sleep a hell of a lot better, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I told you Ced, you don't have to worry about me."

Harry couldn't help the wry smile that crossed his face, while Cedric's frown only got deeper.

"Did you get enough sleep? You know that tomorrow we have to complete the final hell of the Tournament. I don't want you tired, this is sure to be the hardest of the three…" Cedric trailed off, frown getting deeper, falling into a short silence.

:"Listen to me love, I know its going to be hard but I'm more worried about you!" Harry said, a smirk gracing his features.

"Oh really? And how do you figure that I'm the one who needs to be looked after? Hmmm?" Cedric replied, a small smile now playing at the corner of his lips. "I am the one who is of age, and made it LEGALLY into this lovely competition."

With that, Harry leaped over and tackled Cedric to the bed, pinning him down despite being the smaller of the two.

"Simple. I've faced the worst thing that has ever hit Europe, or does Voldemort not count?" Harry said, winking then beginning to tickle Cedric mercilessly.

"Fine, Fine I give! You win! You are clearly much more experienced than I, oh great Boy Who Lived.," Cedric said. A full blown smile crossed his face, and as he laughed, he flipped their positions, and suddenly he was the one tickling Harry with no intention to stop.

The tickles did subside though, and slowly they became soft kisses reaching Harry's neck, cheeks and lips. Harry eagerly responded, his own actions mirroring Cedric's.

Things heated up quickly, moving from small chaste kisses, to deep, languid, snogging. The two allowed their hands to roam freely over each other, and the clothes that Harry had just recently put back on, were quickly removed once again and deposited carelessly on the floor.

Languid snogging quickly turned passionate, the two grinding their rapidly growing erections together. The delicious friction Harry was experiencing was quickly taking him closer to the edge. His short gasps from earlier were quickly becoming faster.

Suddenly the pleasurable friction was gone, and Harry whimpered at the loss of contact. He opened his eyes, and looked into Cedric's; his grey eyes dark with lust. They shared a long look, deep with meaning, as Cedric began kissing his way down Harry's torso. He spent time lavishing attention on Harry's nipples, making Harry writhe and make small mewling noises. Harry couldn't keep himself still, arching his back, looking for more of that contact the two had shared earlier.

As the kisses, nips, and suckles moved slowly lower, he was quickly moaning in pleasure as Cedric took his hard length into his mouth in its entirety. Waves of pleasure rolled through his body as Cedric craned his neck to swallow as much of Harry as he could, then moved quickly back and forth, stroking himself at the same time.

Cedric swirled his tongue over Harry's head, and pressed it hard against the vein on the underside of his shaft, using one hand to slowly massage Harry's balls. When Cedric entered him with a finger, and quickly found Harry's prostate, Harry saw stars, and saw many more as Cedric continuously rubbed the sweet spot. As he added a second and third finger, deep throated Harry again, and hummed, Harry went over the edge, screaming Cedric's name. Cedric swallowed every drop, finished himself up with a small groan and he kissed his way back up Harry's stomach.

But of course, the post-orgasmic bliss wasn't meant to be, for almost immediately after Cedric had removed his mouth from Harry, Dobby popped back in the room, laden with silver trays. He made some loud and ostentatious form of apology for interrupting Harry and Cedric, and disapparated from the room.

The two boys, shocked into silence, descended into laughter almost the moment Dobby left the room.

"Cedric," Harry managed to get out, in between gasps of breath, trying to gain some control over his voice, "I don't think Dobby will be popping in on us unannounced anymore, do you?"

"No, I don't believe he will. I think we've scared the poor thing shitless. I didn't think his eyes could get any bigger but…. Wow!" and Cedric lost the slight control he had master over his laughing, and it began all over again.

The two enjoyed their lunch in bed in a companionable silence, showered (which, of course, took longer than they anticipated) and dressed. As they were saying their goodbyes, preparing to head back to their common rooms, Cedric took Harry's face in his hands.

"Harry, I won't see you again until it's time for the Tournament, and there's no way we'll have time to see each other properly until that's over. Harry, if something happens to either of us, I just want you to know… I love you." He kissed Harry soundly on the lips, pressed a kiss to his forehead and left the room, barely giving Harry enough time to give his answering "I love you too." Cedric looked over his shoulder at Harry standing in the doorway, and smirked.

That smirk was to be etched in Harry's mind forever, for neither boy could ever have anticipated the events of the next day, and how true Cedric's parting words would hold for them both.

****Please review!****


	3. Chapter 3

_~FLASHBACK~_

_Harry and Cedric both reached for the glimmering cup at the same time. They shared a look full of pride that they had each made it thus far in the competition, defeating their obstacles and making their way to the end- together. As their hands touched the cup, instantly there was a slight tug behind Harry's bellybutton, and the world began to spin. The next thing they knew, the two boys had landed in the dark, neither able to see very well._

"_The damn cup was a fucking portkey… Harry? What- Where- Where are we?" Cedric asked, a slight panic edging into his voice over the evident curiosity that Harry could tell he was trying to hide._

"_I don't know, Lumos!"_

_As Harry's wand illuminated, he realized that they had landed in a sinister looking graveyard. As he looked around, despair filled Harry's stomach. He took in his surroundings- large ornate headstones and giant statues filled the graveyard, despite it not being very large itself. A steep path leading upwards and around a corner led to a large mansion, that looked as though it had been abandoned for many years. _

_Harry stepped up to one of the larger statues that appeared to be a reaper, complete with hood and scythe. Harry panicked reading tombstone he was currently looking at. Engraved on the stone was one word, RIDDLE. He immediately recognized the graveyard as the one from his dream._

"_Cedric! We have to get out of here!" _

"_Harry? What's wrong?" Cedric said, worry clearly etched in his voice. _

"_Just get back to the cup- ARRRGH!" Harry screamed as his forehead felt like it was being split in two, his scar burning as though someone was branding him with a white hot iron. _

_He looked up through the pain at the doors to a nearby mausoleum which were standing open, a short man holding the body of what appeared to be a grossly deformed child in his arms. Cedric didn't notice the appearance of another person in the area in his rush to get to Harry, who had collapsed to the ground._

"_Get back to the cup, now! Cedric go!" Harry pleaded, trying to shove at Cedric, who only looked more worried and wouldn't leave Harry's side._

"_I won't leave you here! What's going on Harry?" Cedric nearly shouted, looking around for the source of Harry's pain, his own eyes finally rested on the people standing in the doorway of the mausoleum. _

_When Harry was finally able to get a look at the person standing there, cloaked in darkness he recognized the man- thin, stringy hair, hands with too long fingernails, a hunched back, a very rat-like face. It was Wormtail._

"Kill the spare!_" rasped a loud, high voice from Wormtail's arms, that cut to Harry's very core that he recognized as Voldemort. It was a voice that Harry heard almost every night in his nightmares, the same that he heard his mother pleading with when the Dementors were around. He could hardly believe such a chilling voice could emanate from such a decrepit, pitiful looking creature._

_Wormtail took a few steps closer and Harry's head exploded anew, he could barely see through the pain. Before Harry could recover and warn Cedric or push him out of the way, Wormtail lifted his wand._

"_Avada Kedavra!" _

_The words that left Wormtail's mouth were cold and calculating, though not at all steady. Harry could see that his wand hand was shaking slightly and his eyes widened slightly, then cringed back as he spoke._

"_NO!" Harry shouted, eyes wild with fear._

_A blinding flash of green, a thud on the grass._

_Cedric's lifeless eyes staring up to the sky, unblinking, unfeeling, blank. Worry lines were still etched into his forehead, his mouth slightly opened, as though he were about to protest the spell that had ended his life. _

"_NO! No, no, no, no, no! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Harry tried to lunge forward at Wormtail, momentarily forgetting his wand, intent only on causing as much pain and damage as he could. _

"_Crucio." Wormtail said, devoid of all emotion. As the curse hit him, Harry felt as though his blood was made of fire, his nerves turned into needles, and he fell to the ground, writhing in agony. _

_Nothing could compare to the pain he felt inside. His heart had been clawed from his chest, perhaps by a dragon, judging by just how much it hurt. It had been ripped to pieces, shredded to the point that Harry ceased to believe it could ever be healed. _

_Deep in the pit of his stomach, a void was already forming, creating nothing but pain and emptiness, until eventually it all became too much. Everything went numb, and he felt nothing, but was left to his thoughts, as Wormtail continued his torture- how long it lasted Harry had no sense of time left. It could have been seconds or hours._

_With the loss of his pain came very unwelcome knowledge, that Harry could barely comprehend._

_He would never see Cedric smile or laugh again. That light that always shone when Harry told a joke, but rarely around anyone else was gone forever. He would never hear Cedric's deep chuckle, the one that warmed Harry to his very core and was so very contagious._

_Harry would never again be able to sit with him and simply drown in those torrential blue-gray eyes for hours. Those eyes that had once been a window to Cedric's soul, his expression for nearly every emotion. Those eyes that had shown Harry how very deeply he was loved now lay empty and lifeless on the ground._

_Worst of all, never again would he hear the sweet "I Love You" that he had received for the first time only the day before. There would not be endless days of showing each other just how true the words really were. _

_As the very last thought struck him, his body shut down. The grief was too much, the physical pain too much to bear. Thus far he had remained silent, the only indication of his pain were the tears slipping down his face. Finally, he couldn't remain silent, and let out a sound that was nearly inhuman. Loud, deep, and lasting, the sound echoed all of his pain and loss. _

_Black spots began to steal over his vision, obscuring the replaying scene of Cedric falling to the ground, the constant reminder of the dead look in his eyes. Finally, he sunk into blissful oblivion, allowing himself to simply let go, and sink into unconsciousness. _


	4. Chapter 4

_Present Day. Just before 6__th__ year begins_

Harry was jolted awake as the Hogwarts Express took a sharp turn, carving its path onward towards the castle. He had felt as though this day would never come, the previous summer being almost too much to handle.

After losing Cedric in fourth year, Harry had barely managed to resume a normal life during his fifth year. The rumors about him being a nutter had lost him several friends at one point; Dumbledore thoroughly ignoring him hadn't helped matters at all either. If anything, Harry had put himself into a deep seclusion for a good part of the beginning of the year- only speaking to Ron, Hermione, and of course Sirius.

He eventually told them about his and Cedric's relationship. Ron and Hermione had been pushing him to try and move on, that Cedric's death wasn't his fault, but they hadn't known how close the two boys really were. When Harry told them, they had both been extremely accepting about Harry being gay, and that he had been with an older boy. In fact, Hermione nearly began slipping into hysterics, and even Ron shed a tear or two when they heard the doomed love story.

Sirius had been shocked to hear that Harry liked men, but was 100% accepting, going as far to say that Harry's parents would have been proud of him choosing such a strong, loving person to be with. Sirius's sentiments were followed by tears from both men, and Harry leaving with the knowledge that no matter what his parents would have supported him.

When everything went downhill with Umbridge, and Harry and the others had created the D.A., Harry regained a new sense of purpose, channeling his pain at the loss of Cedric into teaching others to defend themselves. Teaching them how to be on the offensive, not always hiding in the background. Teaching them to be more than the drones that Umbridge was trying to turn them into. They had all made excellent progress, especially Neville who had been doing better than Harry had ever dreamed possible.

Even after the D.A. had been shut down, Harry had made progress. He had friends in other houses that he was keeping in touch with, especially Luna Lovegood, who through her eclectic personality somehow managed to keep Harry grounded and sane. Even after Fred and George left, they continuously sent the Trio letters, detailing their plans for the joke shop, making sure to leave out Harry's monetary involvement of course.

Even Draco Malfoy had left Harry alone. Of course he still made life a living hell for the other members of the D.A. but inexplicably seemed to back off of Harry. He didn't even try to cause fights in the halls or screw with Harry's potions. Harry certainly wasn't upset by this, but he was extremely curious as to why. Shrugging his shoulders to himself, he put it to the back of his mind, that Malfoy did have an inkling of a heart. After all, he had seen Harry and Cedric together that one night holding hands, he likely put two and two together and just backed off.

Overall, things had been going really well- until the incident at the Ministry. Harry had lost Sirius, and even now thinking about that day was too painful for him to bear. After that, Harry had slipped somewhat back into his depression, his only consolation being that Dumbledore was speaking to him again and explaining everything, and Ron and Hermione were there too.

The summer at the Dursley's had passed uneventfully, Harry spending all of his time shut up in his room, reviewing spells, and reading, as well as working out. He found that by pushing his endurance physically, he was able to handle his emotions better. Well that, and he liked what he saw in the mirror better too.

He had even snuck out on a couple of Fridays to get some gold from Gringotts, and converted some of it to Muggle money. He stopped first at the Wizarding version of an eye doctor, and got his vision magically corrected. He figured that if he was going to be fighting Voldemort at some point, having his glasses fall of his face would not be a good idea. Then he took the Underground to the nearest Muggle mall, and shopped the clearance racks for some new t-shirts and jeans. He really just needed some clothes for the year that weren't falling off of him, and suited his new body.

His hair had grown, and somehow straightened a bit over the summer, much to Harry's surprise. It was still an unruly mess, but now it looked like it was done on purpose, not so much like he had just rolled out of bed. Overall, his appearance had utterly changed. And when he had arrived at the Burrow later in the summer, after his birthday, both Hermione and Ginny were practically drooling at him much to Ron's dismay.

Now, Harry was back on the train, heading back to the one place that ever truly felt like home, feeling more alone than he had in a long time. At the moment, he was alone in a compartment he had been sharing with Ron and Hermione in between their Prefect duties. Ginny had left to go sit with her boyfriend, Dean Thomas, and Luna and Neville were in a compartment further down the hall. Harry figured that he was tired of being alone, and got up, stretching as he did so, and exited his compartment. He slid the door behind him, rubbing his eyes, and turning right to walk down the deserted corridor.

Many of the compartments' shades had closed, much to Harry's agreement. There was nothing worse than walking down the halls and being constantly gawked at. He made his way further, passing by where typically Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws intermingled, and without really seeing where he was headed, wandered straight into the all Slytherin part of the train.

"Shit…" he mumbled to himself as he saw a fourth year Slytherin girl exit her compartment, glare at him, and storm off the other way. "Shit, shit, shit." Just as he turned around he bumped into something very tall and slim.

"Sorry, I was just… Malfoy?" Harry said, having not looked up at first to see who he had hit.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" Malfoy drawled.

"I could ask you the same thing Malfoy."

Draco rolled his eyes.

"Well, seeing as my compartment is here… in the middle of the Slytherin area of the train, I would believe I belong here. Unlike you. Why are you back here?"

Harry noticed that the usual sharpness that was usually in Malfoy's voice wasn't there, and there wasn't really any venom in the was he said "Potter". He also couldn't help but to notice that Malfoy looked tired: he had dark circles under his eyes, he had gotten slimmer, and his normally impeccable posture was slightly slumped. His hair wasn't perfectly coifed either, rather falling loosely over his face rather attractively. At the thought of considering anything about Malfoy attractive, Harry's eyebrows drew together, forgetting to answer Malfoy's question.

"Potter?" Malfoy repeated. Harry jumped slightly, having been lost in thought and Malfoy rolled his eyes at him again. "What ARE you doing back here? Shouldn't you be up front with the rest of the Golden Trio?"

"Oh… yeah. They're on Prefect duty. I was looking for Neville and Luna and was lost in thought… forgot where I was headed…" Harry sort of mumbled, eyebrows knitting together again, wondering why he was even bothering to speak to Malfoy instead of trying to bite his head off. He supposed he was just tired of fighting all the time.

"Well you should probably get back. Most people this side of the train wouldn't be too keen so see you wandering about back here. You could find yourself in a bit of trouble," Malfoy smirked, "then again, I don't suppose its often you don't find yourself in trouble, eh Potter?"

Harry's eyebrows shot up, and he ran his fingers through his hair. He couldn't help but smirk back, "No, I reckon I do tend to be a bit of a magnet for trouble, don't I?" He turned to leave, looked back for a final glance at Malfoy. "See you 'round, I guess. Keep yourself out of trouble too, then?"

He wasn't sure what had made him say it, and he could tell Malfoy was surprised as well. "I guess I could do that. See you around Potter." He smirked again, and turned on his heel and sauntered into a nearby compartment leaving a very confused, yet not unhappy Harry in his wake.


	5. Chapter 5

Draco slipped into a deserted compartment and shut the door. He heaved a sigh and sat down, the silence giving him a moment to calm his racing heart and just think. No matter how hard he tried though, he couldn't help but replay bits and pieces of the conversation with Potter over and over.

There were little things, the smirks and stuttering that on anyone else would have seemed irritating. When Potter did it, Draco thought it was cute. No, it wasn't cute, Draco wouldn't think of anything Potter did as cute. That would be wrong. He was Harry bloody Potter, The Boy Who Lived to Make Draco's Life Hell. But then again, there hadn't been much of that the past year. Possibly because Potter was too damn depressed all the time to bother to fight with Draco.

Then there was the fact that it was the one person his father hated above anyone else. Draco should hate him too, he had managed to get Lucius tossed into Azkaban. Even if it was his own fault, it was still Draco's father. He was the ultimate Gryffindor, symbol to the light, and as the Daily Prophet put it, the bloody "Chosen One".

Draco couldn't, no he WOULDN'T allow himself to even consider the possibility of anything occurring with Potter. Perhaps he would allow himself a shag here or there, allow Potter to show off his talents without placing himself into a committed relationship. He just had to keep reminding himself that Potter was a fame-absorbed idiotic Gryffindor, always rushing into things without thinking.

"_See you 'round, I guess. Keep yourself out of trouble too, then?"_

The look on Potter's face when he had said that… it was almost like he was genuinely concerned about Draco's safety. There was no way that Harry Potter of all people would give a damn about him, his nemesis of 5 years. They loathed each other. Potter only cared about himself, Draco's father had told him this again and again. His godfather, Severus, constantly brought up how he was exactly like his father: Pompous, ambitious and believing himself above the rules. Draco had seen this himself.

Unless… What if he was wrong? What if everything he had been told was simply Propaganda, spread by the Dark Lord to keep his followers hating the enemy. What if his father and godfather were wrong? But still, the problem remained that Potter still would never feel concern for him.

But what if… He wondered for a moment if Potter knew how dangerous his situation in Slytherin was at the moment, with his father in prison and assets frozen by the Ministry, and realized it wasn't possible. He kept his affairs extremely private and the only two people who knew were Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini.

Blaise was the only boy in Slytherin that Draco trusted. Draco had always struggled under the tyrannical rule of his father, always pushing to make Lucius accept him, always hating when the older man never did. Blaise's mother had several husbands and all of them died under mysterious circumstances. His mother, when not fawning over the Dark Lord like Bellatrix Lestrange was always severe with her punishments.

With both boys having oppressive home lives, the two boys bonded before they ever reached Hogwarts. They learned how to shield their emotions from others, protect secrets, and most of all, make sure that the only masks they revealed to the rest of the world were those of cool, confident and aristocratic boys. Boys who did not speak of their families to anyone other than each other and Pansy.

Pansy was lucky, her parents were a fair bit less strict than many of the other Slytherin families. They did not punish her severely for daring to think in ways that differed from their own views. She was, of course, forced to at least put up a front that she supported her parents and the Dark Lord by association despite her intense loathing of the creature.

Most importantly, her parents, just as with nearly all of the higher class families, DID expect her to marry a pureblood and produce children. They may not have been as controlling as many other purebloods, but pureblood they were. They still expected their only daughter to behave as the aristocratic young lady she was being raised to be.

"Draco, are you alright love?" Pansy asked quietly, closing the door on her way in as she slipped onto the seat across from Draco. "You seem awfully pensive today. It isn't like you."

Draco scoffed, she often found him just sitting there, a stern look on his face as he spent time just thinking.

"I always do this Pansy, you know that." At that Pansy sighed.

"I know, I was simply trying to get your attention. You do seem more thoughtful today than usual, a bit more positive as well. Has something happened?" She smiled and looked at him hopefully.

"I spoke to Potter today, just in the corridor. I think it may have been the first time since before first year truly started that we had a conversation without it ending in a fight…"

"That's good. But why was he over here in the Slytherin corridor? That's the last place I would ever expect to see him," Pansy said. She continued to ramble a bit, moving on to talk about her summer vacation in France with her parents.

As she kept on with her story, Draco allowed his thoughts to stray some more. When he had run into Potter, he immediately noticed a difference. Draco was still the taller of the two, but not by the large margin there was the year before. Potter had gotten larger too, he was no longer the scrawny little boy of years past, now he had clearly defined muscles. His new clothes showed that off quite nicely.

Draco found his thoughts straying to what may have been under those deliciously form fitting clothes and snapped himself back to looking at Pansy. No sooner had he gotten a vision of Potter's body out of his head, when he remembered the eyes. Potter had gotten rid of his hideous glasses, and now his eyes were plain as day to anyone looking at him.

Potter's hair had grown out a bit and framed his face nicely. Without the glasses in the way, and how his hair fell, one's attention was brought immediately to the piercing green eyes surrounded by thick black lashes. Draco couldn't help but sit and imagine himself falling into those eyes, losing track of time, just sitting there with Harry.

Shit. He was thinking of him as Harry now. This was bad, very bad indeed. He knew he found the other man attractive and knew he liked boys. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that he was feeling himself wanting to BE with Harry Potter, not just shag him. Shit.

"Draco! Have you heard anything I just said? Or were you too busy daydreaming about Potter?" Pansy snapped at him.

"Wha-? Oh, sorry Pans. I was just…"

"Just what, Draco Malfoy? Every time I try to talk to you, you flit off into your own little dream world."

"But I- oh fine, yes I was thinking about Potter. Happy now?" Draco admitted with a huff, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

"You are insufferable. But goodness, look at you, blushing away." She sighed again, an amused smirk gracing her lips. "I suppose I'll just leave you to your thoughts then? I have to go drag Blaise away from Nott, you know how they get when they're together. I swear, I've never seen a couple together so often. And Nott is such an arsehole and so… violent. I'll never know why Blaise stays with him."

"Good idea, Pans, you know I can't stand that little fuck. I'll wait here. If it takes too long for you to pry the lovebirds off of one another, I'll save you all seats at the Feast, alright?"

"Thanks Dray, you're wonderful," Pansy smiled, leaned over to give Draco a kiss on the cheek, and he playfully pushed her away.

"Hurry it up, and don't call me Dray! You know I can't stand that, you arse." He laughed and smirked at her as she left. As she closed the door behind her, Draco was once again left to let his mind wonder. By the time the train reached the school, his mind had quite ran away with itself and Draco wondered when his subconscious had gotten so creative.

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait, studying for exams has been kicking my ass! Hopefully sometime within the next few weeks things will settle down and I'll be able to post on a more regular schedule. **

**Anyway, I hope the multiple postings has made up for my laziness!**


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